It’s cold, it’s windy and it’s raining cats and dogs. Not the ideal weather for swimming. But that is what twenty-five children do with their parents on Friday afternoon at the De Leewal swimming pool in Exloo.
Twins Lynn and Lize have only been taking swimming lessons for a few months and are already going for their c-diploma. They don’t know what their secret is, but they do know that it is cold. “Very cold,” said the twins. “Shuddering together,” says mother Annemarie, who is also in the water.
Swimming pool manager Henk Smit looks proudly at the swimmers from the side. “A huge achievement is being achieved in this dog weather. Swimming under these conditions is something I have never experienced in all the years I have worked here.”
And the swim is not only for the children, but also for the parents. “We used to only have the A and B diplomas,” Smit explains. Many parents do not have a c-diploma. “We try to involve parents as much as possible in the c-diploma. Eighty percent of parents now participate in diploma swimming.”
Curious about how the swim works? Watch the video below. Text continues below the video.